Best & Worst in Wisconsin Sports in 2017

Wisconsin sports did not have themselves the type of year that we may have wanted especially with the Green Bay Packers. There were a few of us (Me included) who thought the Packers could go into Minneapolis and play in the Super Bowl in front of Vikings fans galore. Instead, there’s the fear that Vikings could be playing in front of their home crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium. There were some great moments in 2017, and there were some bad moments as well. Let’s run through it with all of the teams in Wisconsin (We’re excluding Milwaukee and Green Bay basketball, sorry friends).

Green Bay Packers
BEST – Divisional Round vs. Dallas (34-31) – It’s amazing how the Packers-Cowboys rivalry took a different turn in the last decade. Aaron Rodgers taken ownership against this team. Before Rodgers went out with his injury, the other Dallas game was absolutely incredible. The Rodgers to Cook pass on 3rd and 20 to set up a field goal for Mason Crosby is one of the Mount Rushmore passes for the best quarterback alive.

WORST – Regular season loss to Minnesota (23-10) – We all know what happened here. Aaron Rodgers goes down with another collarbone injury, and the Packers go on to have their worst season since 2008. If Rodgers doesn’t go down, I think Green Bay is the fifth or the sixth seed. I don’t think they win the division with Minnesota, but who knows maybe the coaching changes do not happen.

Milwaukee Bucks
BEST – Game 3 vs. Raptors (104-77) – What a win this was for the Bucks. Game 1 is a great one. But Game 3 is really special with being at the Bradley Center and it being completely on fire as Milwaukee couldn’t miss from deep.

WORST – February 8th loss (106-88) – Jabari Parker tore his ACL again. Milwaukee was only 22-29 at the time, and they ended up getting super hot to make the playoffs. Who knows what this team would look like with Parker, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo all healthy.

Milwaukee Brewers
BEST – Winning the series against Dodgers – In late August, there were no hotter team than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Milwaukee Brewers were trying to rebound from a losing streak earlier in the month. They won two of three against Los Angeles in dramatic fashion with huge games pitched by Zach Davies and Jimmy Nelson

WORST – Brewers/Cubs Thursday night in extras mid September – I was at Game 6 of the championship series when the Cardinals clinched the pennant. I was here for this one too. Horrible loss, and the night after wasn’t much better. Both games Milwaukee could have won. Both games could have altered the NL Central race.

Marquette Golden Eagles
BEST – Beating 1. Villanova – You had a feeling that night Marquette could have enough to take down Nova, and sure enough, a furious comeback late led to the victory over Nova. Marquette played their hearts out that night and gave Steve Wojciechowski his first signature win as a coach. It also propelled Marquette to their first NCAA Tournament berth in years.

WORST – Losing to Seton Hall in Big East Tournament – Seton Hall is a bad, bad matchup for Marquette, and that loss made it feel like the Golden Eagles could be on the outs come tournament time. Thankfully, they were rewarded with a 10 seed, but they nearly missed out on the chance.

Wisconsin Badgers
BEST (Football) – Iowa (11/14): It was a banner year for the Badgers, but the Iowa game gave people some real hope that it could go undefeated for the season. They beat them down 38-14 after Ohio State lost to this same team.

WORST (Football) – Ohio State (12/7): Who knows if Alabama get a second shot at playing in the playoff if Wisconsin won against Ohio State. Buckeyes and Badgers did seem like eight of the best teams in college football. Big Ten really had a great year.

BEST (Basketball) beating top seed Villanova – Round two upset for Badgers as they share the same opponent as their Marquette counterpart. It was a great win capped off with a Nigel Hayes game-winner